Harry Potter and the Road to Hamilton
by Mess of a Jess
Summary: *** STORY ABANDONED *** Harry has an unusual guest at his house, and a message that he is needed back at Hogwarts. A strange new girl arrives... and Harry knows that she is not what she seems....
1. Harry's Surprise

"Although hexes are considered by many to be a useful form of self-defense, if used incorrectly there can be disastrous effects...." Harry nudged the rim of his round glasses up higher on his nose as he tapped the edge of his quill on the desk. He cleared his throat, retied his shoe, and watered down his ink before returning to his essay. "...Some of these effects include..." he sighed. With one final slam of his textbook, The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 4 he decided once again to leave his schoolwork for tomorrow.  
Harry's eyes wandered around the room as he wondered what his best friends, Ron and Hermione, were doing for the holidays. His eyes paused on a brand new stereo system with the antenna hanging loosely and a speaker kicked through that his obnoxious and highly overweight cousin Dudley had received for a birthday not too long ago. When Harry's Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon had questioned Dudley's ability to take care of such an expensive item, Dudley had thrown a tantrum right in the middle of a crowded department store, thus the gift was bought and wrapped within twenty minutes. Only three days later, the stereo was added to the vast collection of broken items littering Harry's room, the "extra room."  
To his remaining family, Harry had always been an outsider. The Dursley house was covered in innumerable pictures of Dudley's fat face, and if one had not been told that another boy had lived under the staircase for eleven years before moving to an extra room upstairs, then one would never have known.  
Harry's stomach suddenly grumbled as he looked at his watched. 5:30, almost time for supper. Slowly, he headed towards the stairs.  
Aunt Petunia was waiting for him, as she always did this time of day, with a stack of dishes and silverware. Harry grabbed them and headed for the kitchen table.  
"No! Dining Room," said Aunt Petunia. Harry looked down at the dished he was carrying.  
"China?"  
"Your Uncle Vernon just called, he has an important dinner guest coming tonight rather suddenly. Get the dishes and glasses from the china cabinet and here are the napkins, there's supper for you on the table." Aunt Petunia stalked back into the kitchen with her head a bit higher than usually. She abruptly turned back to him, "And by the way, if I ever catch you nicking food from the kitchen again you will be in for it. Those sticky buns were not for you, and you know it. Vernon will be hearing about this, I assure you of that! And if this table is not perfect, you'll be spending the night in the cupboard under the stairs, do you hear me? God knows you'd be less trouble in there anyway. Now get going!" She turned and continued her course to the kitchen as Dudley suddenly appeared in the Dining Room.  
"Better watch yourself, Dad's already got it out for you," he said with a little grin on his face.  
"So how were those sticky buns, Dudleykins?" Harry vaguely replied. With a little smirk on his face, he waddled through the doorway and into the kitchen behind his mother. Harry continued laying down plates as he wondered whom the guest could possibly be. Vernon's only sister, Marge, wasn't due for another visit as she had come for the Christmas holidays while Harry was still at school.   
School.... Harry thought longingly for the old stone castle. Hogwart's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry had accepted him several years ago, when he had first learned of his wizard heritage. It was the only place where Harry had really been happy. In his first year, Harry had met Ron and Hermione, his two best friends when they had been sorted into the same House- the Gryffindors.   
After completing the table, Harry returned to the kitchen where he ate his cold soup and toast in peace. As he was cleaning his dishes, he could hear Dudley's loud voice upstairs followed closely by Aunt Petunia's squeaky one.  
"I'm not wearing that!"  
"But it makes you look so handsome, and we do want to look nice for our guest, don't we?"  
"No!"  
"Dudley, it's not that bad! You can bring your Smeltings Stick to dinner with you if you wear the tie!"  
"I-AM-NOT-WEARING..." Dudley suddenly paused as he heard the garage door begin to open.  
"Now put that on and get downstairs," Aunt Petunia said as she rushed to meet her guest. As she passed, she saw Harry sitting next to the sink. "Harry! Get moving!" With that, Harry shuffled up the stairs. As he entered his room, he saw a gray tawny owl he did not recognize sitting on his desk. On its leg was attached a small piece of parchment. He ripped it off and read the contents.  
Harry,  
Hope you are having a nice summer. I've been really busy. Hope to hear from you soon  
Hermione  
  
Harry gave a deep sigh, another lousy letter from Hermione. For the previous three weeks he had gotten only short and non-descriptive letters from her. At this he glanced at a letter from Ron he had gotten the day before. One particular sentence caught his eye.  
...haven't heard much from Hermione. She must be on vacation somewhere. Though I wonder why she hasn't told us about it...  
  
As he pondered on this, he heard the door below him slam. His curiosity got the most of him again, so he lay down on his bed and listened to the conversations below him to figure out who the guest could be.  
"Petunia, dear, I'm home!" A little pitter-patter followed by a deep shuffle told Harry that Aunt Petunia had gone to the entrance hall followed closely by Dudley.   
"Hello, dear, how was your day? And who is this nice- uh- woman you've brought home to meet us?"  
"This is Rose Ethernet, our new customer. She came by the office today to make an incredible purchase, and I felt it only appropriate to invite this fine lady home for supper."  
"Well hello, nice to meet you."  
"Likewise." Harry jumped up as he heard this familiar voice. Could it be? Not now, in the middle of the summer holidays. He put his head back down on the bed. It couldn't possibly be, he had to be imagining it.  
"Would you care for a drink, Rose my dear."  
"Why yes that would be lovely." He heard the voice again. This time he was certain who the voice belonged to. He tiptoed over to the staircase to see if he could catch a glance of the mystery guest. Slowly he crept down the stairs, but as he reached the second step his foot slipped on water that he had dripped from his hands after washing the dishes earlier. He fell down the stairs, making a loud slam as he hit each one.  
Aunt Petunia's loud scream told him that this was not going to be hidden from the people in the next room, and soon enough Uncle Vernon was towering over him.  
"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING?"  
"I...I...."  
"What is it what's going on?" The mystery guest came running into the room behind Uncle Vernon. With one glance, Harry knew that his suspicions were correct. Even though she was clad in regular Muggle attire, he recognized her immediately.   
"Nothing, nothing at all, Petunia why don't you bring our guest back into the parlor why I clear this up." Uncle Vernon turned back to Harry, his face red. "You are going to pay for this, boy."  
"Harry?" The guest said, peeking from behind Uncle Vernon.  
"H-h-hello Professor McGonagall." Uncle Vernon's looked stunned, glancing back and forth between the two of them.  
"What is this? Boy, you must have hit your head harder than you thought. Now get back upstairs.... NOW!"  
"No, no, it's alright. Actually, I've come to ask a favor of Harry. I am Professor McGonagall, a teacher at Harry's school."  
"THEN GET OUT! WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?" He turned back to Harry. "YOU WOULD DARE INVITE PEOPLE LIKE- PEOPLE LIKE YOU INTO OUR HOUSE?"   
"I'm sorry, this is my fault. Harry here had nothing to do with it. I've come to take Harry with me." Harry was stunned at this.  
"What? What's happened?" Harry said.  
"Nothing- well, nothing bad. Professor Dumbledore has asked me to come and get you; he needs your help back at Hogwarts. I have instructions to take you back with me tonight." Thoughts raced through Harry's head. Could Voldemort have come back for him, and he needed extra protection? Or was it something else? Either way, Harry was ecstatic at the thought of returning to Hogwarts. "You'll need all of your school things for the year, so pack your trunk. I'm sorry to surprise you like this, but really there was no other way." She turned back to Uncle Vernon. "Now how about that drink, I'm parched."  
"Take the boy and leave. I don't want you in my house any longer than you have to be." At this, Harry left the crowd standing at the foot of the stairs and ran to pack his things. Within ten minutes, he had stuffed everything into his trunk and was ready to go.  
"Well, Hedwig, we're going home."  
  



	2. The Knight Bus

Harry and Professor McGonagall stared out into the empty road.  
"Well, I guess that's that. They didn't really put up much of a fight, though," she said with a little twinkle in her eye.  
"Did you expect them to?"  
"I'm not about to say anything bad about your family, but I still think they could have been a little bit nicer. I mean they are not going to see you for almost a year."  
"Thank goodness," Harry muttered under his breath.  
"So... I think we should get going, don't you?"  
"How exactly are we going to do this? The Hogwarts Express wouldn't take us there now, would they?"  
"No, of course not. I find that traveling is much easier with the ability to apparate, but being that you are underage we'll take the next best thing. The Knight Bus!" Harry groaned as he heard this. He remembered his last experience with the Knight Bus all too well. Professor McGonagall reached inside her robes for her wand, and with a flick of a wrist the Knight Bus was standing right in front of them.   
"Well, well, well, professor, long time no see." Said the tall, young, pimply boy standing in front of them.  
"Yes it has been a long time!" McGonagall said merrily. "Working for the Knight Bus, now are you?"  
The boy chuckled. "You caught me. And who is-- golly, that's Harry Potter. Hey, Neville, how're ya doin?" McGonagall eyed Harry suspiciously.  
"Uh...fine...."  
"Well hop on board. Where're we taking you today?"  
"We'll be traveling to Hogsmeade. We'll have to walk from there. Is that alright with you, Harry?"  
"That's fine." The two of them climbed aboard. Harry looked up and down the aisle at all of the little beds while McGonagall paid for their tickets. Being that the sun had not yet gone down, the only two passengers were sitting up- one reading the paper, the other lightly dozing. Soon enough, they bus had gone speeding off again, almost hitting the mailbox at the end of Privet Drive before it jumped out of the way.  
The two of them picked seats towards the end of the bus, Harry lugging his trunk and Hedwig's cage behind him. The owl hooted loudly as they sat, so Harry stuck a finger through the cage and let him nibble it for a moment.   
McGonagall and Harry sat in silence until Harry looked up and said, "So why am I needed back at Hogwarts. It's only a couple weeks until school starts."  
McGonagall smiled. "It's not really my style to ruin surprises. Dumbledore has a job that he needs you for. But don't be worried." Harry's palms went sweaty. Suppose he had to face Voldemort again, surly he would not survive.  
For the rest of the ride, McGonagall made mindless chatter with the other passengers while Harry sat in silence. Different mysterious reasons for why Dumbledore needed his help were scrolling through his head. Before he knew it, the other passengers had been dropped off and it was only he and McGonagall on the bus.  
"Alrighty, next stop Hogsmeade."  
Within minutes, they had arrived and they stepped off the bus onto the dark street. They continued up the path and soon enough Hogwarts could be seen in the distance. Harry couldn't help but smile.  
  



	3. Carolyn Anne Trottree

Chapter 3- Carolyn Anne Trottree  
  
McGonagall opened the heavy doors to the castle and they entered the Great Hall.  
"Well, welcome back. I'll go get Dumbledore, he'll meet you in the common   
room. Go get settled."  
Harry walked through the empty corridors. The quiet was unnerving.  
Soon enough, he had reached the familiar picture of the fat lady. She was quietly   
snoozing, looking slightly tanner.  
"How did you get tan, don't you just sit in your frame all day?" Harry asked   
suspiciously. She awoke suddenly, and was rather irritated by the unwanted disruption.  
"I have friends near windows, don't be surprised I have a social life. And what   
are you doing back so early?"  
"I suppose you want a password?" Harry said nonchalantly.  
"Password… oh the password…. Never mind you can just come in I can't be   
bothered with passwords. After all, this is my vacation too." She swung open. Harry   
stepped inside and turned around to get his trunk. After about ten minutes of wishing the   
house elves had come to help, he got it inside. He looked around the common room and   
was surprised at what he saw.  
Books, quills, and stray papers scattered the familiar floor. Tables and chairs   
were barely visible under all the mess. As he looked farther around the room, he saw   
something large and living hunched over in the corner. His knees began to shake as he   
stepped closer to it.  
Quietly he inched over, afraid that it was something that would attack him. He   
took out his wand, various curses and hexes running through his head. Figuring that he   
would get the best of it before it could get the best of him he continued walking towards   
it. Suddenly, he tripped on a stack of books and he went crashing to the floor, his wand   
flying out of read. The loud noise had woken the thing up, and he could see it begin to   
move. He palms went sweaty.  
The thing groaned softly, and then what seemed like a head peeked up. "What…"   
it said sleepily. The thing sat up, obviously seeing Harry lying on the floor. Harry   
covered his head, afraid of what it could possibly do to him. He had known run into   
enough magical creatures at his time at Hogwarts to know that he could easily be   
destroyed with the wink of an eye. The thing came closer…  
"Harry! I didn't expect you here for ages! What are you doing here?" Harry   
peeked an eye out from under the protection of his arm to see Hermione standing over   
him.   
"I…er…"  
A loud noise came from behind a chair in the same corner Hermione had been   
laying. "I'm awake! I'm sorry, Herm, I must have dozed off. Where were we?" An   
unfamiliar looking American girl stood up from behind the chair and looked over and   
Harry. The girl had long blonde hair tied messily into a ponytail and endearing brown   
eyes. Harry didn't recognize her, even though she must have been about his age. She   
was a very stunning young girl, but Harry did not notice this because the same thought   
was running through his head. 'Herm? Since when is she Herm?' The girl gave a   
quizzical look to Hermione.  
"Oh! Sorry, this is Harry. Harry Potter. You know, I've told you about him,"   
Hermione said to break the uneasy silence.  
"Of course!" the girl said. She jumped up and began shaking his hand violently.   
Harry realized then that she was quite a bit taller than him, practically the size of Ron,   
Harry's other best friend. "Harry, finally we meet!" Harry looked back to Hermione.  
"Oh my goodness, Harry what time is it?" Harry just sat looking at her. His mind   
was in a state of complete confusion. Before he could answer, however, the portrait door   
opened. Not wanting any more surprises, Harry was afraid to see who it could possibly   
be.   
"Hello, Professor," the girls said in unison.  
"Ah, Harry! So I see you have finally arrived and met our new project," said   
Dumbledore as he climbed into the common room.   
"Actually…er… what's going on?" Harry finally said. At this, everyone   
laughed. But Harry didn't find it quite so funny.  
"I'm sorry we've left you uninformed. I can imagine that you are feeling quite   
confused right now." 'Yes, I can imagine that too,' Harry thought to himself. "This here   
is Carolyn."  
"Carolyn Anne Trottree to be exact," said Carolyn from behind Harry.  
"Now Carolyn here will be joining us here in the fall for school." Everyone   
paused at this and looked at Harry. With the feeling that he should have some reaction,   
he looked back at them all and said, "Oh." He waited for a few seconds, but was rescued   
by the opening of the common room door. Inside stepped a very tired looking man who   
was looking as if he had just come over some sort of illness.  
"Professor Lupin! What a surprise! I surmise that you are feeling much better?"   
said Dumbledore.  
"Yes, thank you. Actually, Professor McGonagall just informed me of Harry's   
arrival. Apparently, she felt that I should explain why he is here, although there isn't   
much to explain. Would you care for tea in my office, Harry?"  
"Er… sure." Harry vaguely waved goodbye to Hermione and Carolyn. He and   
Lupin exited the common room and walked down the hallway with the fat lady screaming   
behind them. "Don't expect to be let back in! I've had enough of the likes of you! This   
is my summer holiday, why can't you just stay home like every other normal person?"   
But they ignored her and continued walking until they reached a little office that used to   
be Lupin's.  
"Hungry?" Lupin asked.  
"Starving."  
"Here, have some sandwiches. I had the house elves bring them up before I came   
to get you. With so little to do around here, they get a little over-excited with work as   
you can see." Harry looked down at an enormous plate of sandwiches. His eyes passed   
over many different varieties, including the common 'ham and cheese' and turkey on rye   
to some that he had never even seen before. One looked suspiciously like yogurt spread   
in a pita, but he quickly overlooked it and reached for a safe-looking peanut butter and   
jelly.  
"So, had enough commotion for one night? McGonagall told me what happened   
back at your relatives house. I'm terribly sorry, I feel responsible. It was my idea for her   
to make a purchase from your Uncle. I guess that wasn't really the best way, was it?"   
Lupin said as he slowly sat down in his big chair, sandwich in one hand and pumpkin   
juice in another.  
"Clearly. But that's okay, I doubt that they will care. Maybe they won't want me   
back next summer. But I must admit, I am a little confused as to why I am needed back   
here. I mean, three hours ago I was looking at another uneventful summer with the   
Dursleys and now I'm back here with Hermione and some new girl I've never met. Plus,   
seeing you back on the grounds. By the way, what are you doing here? This is just too   
much- I don't think my brain can handle it."  
Lupin laughed lightly and gulped down a glass of the juice. "Well… let's see…   
this is a bit of a long story, so how about we start from the beginning and then I'll explain   
where you work in?"   
"Fine by me," Harry replied as he grabbed a second half of a sandwich.  
Lupin took a deep breath. "Carolyn grew up in the States, but like you, she never   
really knew her parents." Harry flinched at this, but urged Lupin to continue. "She was   
born here in Britain, but was brought to the US at an early age where she grew up in   
different homes provided by foster agencies and such."  
"Wait, so then did her parents…die?"  
"No- well, not exactly. It's not known exactly who her parents were. She was   
left very early in life, her parents may be dead or the may just be hiding. One cannot be   
sure. But, somewhere along the line she inherited the blood of a wizard, and came to find   
that she had powers beyond her control. The American School of Witchcraft and   
Wizardry would not accept the poor girl because she wasn't an American citizen but   
rather was British. This, of course, she did not know.  
"About a year ago, in September after I had resigned from the school Dumbledore   
contacted me and told me about her. He wanted to educate her, rather than have her   
roaming around the States as an untrained wizard." Thoughts raced through Harry's   
mind. Why would Dumbledore care to take her in? Certainly, there are hundreds of   
wizards out there who are untrained and not aware of their powers. She cannot be the   
only one. And yet, he felt it was necessary to pick this one girl out of the crowd. Harry's   
thoughts were interrupted as Lupin continued the story.  
"I was sent to fetch her and teach her magic to a certain extent. She lived with me   
in my house until last term here ended and I could take her to where there were the proper   
resources for her to learn. It was Dumbledore's idea to bring Hermione in to help, and I   
admit I didn't think Carolyn would be ready to join classes with students of several years   
more teaching than she has had. But now it seems that they will be prepared."  
"So how exactly do I work into this story?" Harry asked. It all seemed so…   
peculiar.  
"We need you to help Carolyn as well. With my monthly…well…illness I can't   
do as much as is needed. Hermione and Carolyn have been working as hard as possible,   
but it's not going to cut it. By the request of Hermione, your presence was requested as   
well as Ron's."  
"Ron's coming?"  
"Yes, but I can't be sure exactly when. Last that I heard, Arthur had a business   
trip and decided to take Molly with him, so the kids were all at home together. And I can   
just guess how that's turned out." A vision of the Burrow practically jumping off its   
hinges came into Harry's head, and he laughed at the thought.  
"Wait, I have one more question," Harry said. "I don't mean to be rude,   
Professor, but how exactly have you been taking care of your…er… condition while   
Carolyn's been staying with you?"  
"It was simple enough. I had Snape make me an enormous batch of the potions   
before I could teach myself how to do it. For the first few months, I made it myself and   
for the week when I would transform, I'd just curl up in my room. Carolyn took care of   
herself during those times; she's been doing it for years. Then, after a while, I didn't   
have to make the potions anymore." Harry leapt out of his chair at this.  
"Can you possibly mean…?"  
"No, no, no. I had someone make the potions for me. I had quite a skilled girl   
living in my house, she is an incredible cook which made her especially talented at   
making potions." Harry laughed at his own stupidity. To think that Lupin was no longer   
a werewolf was purely idiotic, for Lupin had been bitten so long ago. "And now, Harry, I   
think it's time for you to be getting to bed. If you haven't noticed, it's all work, no play   
around here and you've had a big night. I must say, I could go for the rest myself."   
Harry looked at his old father's friend. Indeed, he did look exhausted.  
Harry excused himself and slowly walked up to Gryffindor tower, thinking over   
what Lupin had said. It all didn't make sense.   
  



End file.
